Out of Line
by getoutofmyroom
Summary: Elliot acts like an absolute dick. Olivia's patience wears thin.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 – Out of line**

He had been ignoring her all day.

No, ignoring her would have actually been tolerable, he had been cold to her all day. Rude, hard and out of line. She was choosing her battles wisely. She had suppressed the need to retaliate, but as the day drew on she was nearing breaking point.

Now in the confines of Cragen's office she knew she had to be on her best behaviour, she was only praying he would be too.

"Any leads on the guy?" Cragen directed the comment towards Elliot.

Elliot face sported a defeated expression. He shook his head. She could see the disappointment in Cragen's eyes as they moved over to her. He was waiting anxiously for her to confirm or deny Elliot's answer. She didn't have much but she felt she needed to give him something. That's when she remembered the t-shirt. She had mentioned it to Elliot last night at the scene but he had quickly dismissed her.

"The t-shirt Emily was wearing…" she began and already she noticed the shift in Elliot's body language.

She ignored it.

"It was a shirt given out to members of the Mickey Mouse Club. It could be worth looking into the club, not only the administration staff but the members, see if any other children that were associated have gone missing. "

Elliot's bitter voice cut her off, rattling through the office. "That's not a lead Olivia, it's a hunch. One we don't have time for."

Cragen's eye brows raised slightly, Olivia's remained unaffected. She had expected this from him, only she assumed he would have a little more tact being that they were sitting directly opposite their superior.

The room was silent for a few moments until Cragen continued, intentionally ignoring Elliot's comment.

"What makes you think the club may be involved?' Cragen gave her his full attention.

"Another case, seven months ago involving Samual Hill, a 7 year old boy in New Jersey was relatively similar. He was found in his standard issue Mickey Mouse T-shirt-" Her words were cut off by his.

"Wow two shirts Olivia, two different cities, two completely different cases. A coincidence Olivia not a connection so just drop it."

Cragen cleared his throat, intent on saying something but Olivia beat him to it.

"If you would have let me finish Elliot, I was going to go on to say that another connecting factor was the children's nanny. Maria Luckata. She moved to New York 6 months ago, soon after Samual's death and started working for Emily's family. Quite a large coincidence wouldn't you say Elliot?"

She had turned at that point to face his profile, a questioning glare radiating from her eyes. She hadn't spoken in spite, she had just informed him matter-of-factly, inside however she was reeling with victory.

He turned to capture her eye contact, "When did you find this out?"

"When I was looking into Samual's case, at first I thought it was just the t-shirt that was the connecting factor but when I looked a little further, Maria's name came up."

"Well this would have been a lot more helpful had you brought this to my attention sooner?" He said through gritted teeth.

She could almost taste his humiliation.

"Elliot, I came across this information 15 minutes before Cragen called us in here. The documentation is still on the printer." She told him giving him only a hint of a sweet smile.

"Ok well it looks like we may have something here," Cragen broke the tension, concentrating only on what was important.

"Let's see what Maria Luckata has to offer."

###

As they exited Cragen's office Olivia was baffled by the complete lack of reference to Elliot's behaviour. She was sure Cragen would have whipped Elliot back into line or at least questioned him about it. Olivia was chewing the inside of her cheek with anxiety, just reeling inside at his conduct with Cragen.

She pulled the documents out of the printer and gathered some items off her desk. As she lifted her coat off the back of her chair, she saw Elliot disappear through the door. Shaking her head, she picked up her speed to catch up to him.

He was already in the car, she pulled the door open and slid in. He was floored the accelerator.

"Jesus Elliot I was barely in the car?" Olivia pointed out, slightly out of breath, knowing full well she wouldn't get an answer.

She knew she wasn't going to last the day without imploding, he was draining her completely of any tolerance. He wasn't speaking to her now she confirmed and although it was a relief from the sarcastic and rude comments, she wanted an explanation.

"What's going on Elliot?" She could finally ask the question without prying ears and the fear of him exploding in front of the station.

The air was stale and the tension was high. She gave him a few seconds.

Nothing.

"Do you have some sort of problem with me?" She questioned, trying her best to ask it simply not rudely.

Nothing.

She was nearing that line.

"Well that's just great, you've gone from insulting me to ignoring me." Olivia muttered under her breath, turning to face the window.

The car was slowing to a traffic light, which made the tension twice as thick as they sat there in silence.

She wanted to chalk it down to a bad day, but he had been off for a few days now. Not quite this rude previously but almost as if he was building up to this. She could only imagine what tomorrow would bring.

"Why didn't you tell me about Maria earlier?" His question caught her off guard, she wasn't expecting him to brake the silence.

"I told you Elliot," she began with reassurance, "I just found out myself."

"Still, you had time to tell me before we went in." He said sourly, not even looking her way.

"So when should I have told you Elliot when you were yelling at me or avoiding me? I'm sure you would have been extremely responsive." The bitterness was seeping through.

"You should have told me." He said firmly.

The tolerance had faded, she used the empty car to her advantage to let loose. "You're just pissed off that I found a good lead, you were too busy kicking down doors and punching in lockers to do your job."

His eyes narrowed in on her, "Screw you." It was almost a whisper.

She met his gaze without hesitation. "Green." She said without shifting her line of sight.

"What?" He said angrily.

"It's Green." She indicated the stoplight and a car horn behind shattered their silence. Elliot jumped, turning away and hitting the accelerator.

As soon as the car made its way to the footpath framing Emily's family home, Elliot was out of the car without another word was said.

###

Back at the precinct Olivia was collating the information they had received from Maria. She didn't have a great deal to offer but she had enough to lead them to two different suspects.

As she made her way over to the printer she pealed her research from the tray and walked slowly back to her desk. Her thoughts were absorbed completely in the words in front of her. She didn't notice Elliot coming towards her with his cup of coffee in hand. She didn't notice he wasn't looking where he was going either.

They collided forcibly, Olivia's notes flying from her grasp and Elliot's cup of coffee spilling straight down the front of her sweater. She stood back quickly, her mouth open wide a shocked expression lining her face. Silently thankful the coffee hadn't been freshly steaming hot, just luke warm and stale.

"Jesus Elliot!" She yelled through the precinct without a thought. He looked at her oddly, with no expression. No apology, no remorse, just a blank stare.

Olivia pulled her sweater off her stomach, shaking the coffee out. She looked around realizing they had captured everyone's attention. Even Cragen had come out of his office at the disturbance.

Olivia shook her head at him and quickly dispersed making her way to the lockers.

She pulled her sweater over her head just as she made it into the locker room. Her white tank top underneath was lucky to miss the majority of the coffee spill. She opened her locker and shifted through her things. Pants, umbrella, shoes, no shirts, no jackets, no tops nothing.

"Shit!" She slammed her locker shut and rubbed the miniscule coffee mark at the bottom of the tank top. She caught her refection in the mirror, you couldn't notice the stain from afar, you could however notice the generous amount of cleavage this top failed to conceal. It was already a little tight for her, she had only worn it as an undershirt and now it was all she had to wear.

Elliot came up behind her and she jumped at his voice, "You ok?"

She swung around to face him, his eyes immediately dropping to the tops of her breasts.

"I'm fine." She was furious with him but she wouldn't let it show. His eyes flicked quickly back to hers a little embarrassed to have been looking.

"I didn't mean to you know." His words a little softer from the awkwardness. She wondered if he was talking about eyeing her cleavage or the coffee.

"I'm sure you didn't." She said sceptically putting her soiled sweater into a plastic bag and shoving it into her locker.

"You think I did that on purpose?" Elliot's tone immediately changed, anger rising.

"After they way you've been treating me today, I wouldn't put it past you. Now are you done torturing me or can we get back to work?" She began to walk past him but he stopped her with his words.

"I wasn't looking where I was going… and neither were you." He pointed out.

"Right so this is my fault then." She folded her arms before her, not realising that only extenuated her breasts.

"I didn't say that." He was getting worked up, his eyes uneasily drew down to her chest again, "Do you have another shirt you can put on?" He said with annoyance.

Her eyes narrowed, ready to take offence. "No Elliot, you saturated the only top I have here so I guess I'm stuck in this all day. Thanks a lot."

He cleared his throat, giving her a condescending look, "Accidents happen Liv."

She wanted to scream at him at that point, punch his lights out. Firstly that he took no responsibility for it and secondly that he would condescendingly call her Liv at a time like this.

"Maybe your 'accident' theory would have been more convincing had you actually apologized at the time, like any decent person would have." She shot back at him. "But no, you just stood there as if I'd gotten what I deserved."

He took in her words and just watched her, every inch of him forcing him not to look south again.

He broke the eye contact then abruptly dismissed her, "It was an accident Olivia, get over it." He walked away from her then.

She was seething.

The pressure of this day, of Elliot and his relentless indecency was driving her mad.

She sat at her desk, conscious that her top was both inappropriate and by the looks of things, popular.

She had counted maybe 10, maybe 15 eyes fall south when they passed and it was getting old.

About five of those glances had come from her partner directly opposite her, five that she had counted anyway, who knew how many he had stolen while she wasn't watching. She had caught Elliot out on a few and it appeared he had retreated. He refused to even look in her direction now.

"Jason Silverman, the man Maria told us about has a criminal record." She told him across the desk, not sure if he'd even listen to her.

Elliot's eyes finally gave in and looked over to her, "What's his record?"

"Indecent exposure, kidnapping, theft-" She rattled off the first three and he was cutting her off.

"Let's see." He held out his hand wanting proof, expecting her to hand over her latest find.

She stood up leaning over the desk, holding the paper within his reach. He didn't take it and finally she looked across at him figuring out why. His eyes were glued yet again to her breasts, he could see right down her top. She was really getting sick of this.

"Elliot!" She yelled a little too loudly, "Do you mind?" She tossed the paper towards him and he caught it as he snapped from his thoughts.

"I'm sorry ok, you don't make it easy." He mumbled his eyes scanning the page. Olivia sat back in her chair pulling the stubborn tank top as far up as she could.

"This is not our guy." He announced suddenly flicking the page back to her. Then he was gone, as he had made a habit of doing lately. She shook her head as she watched him walk out to the lockers.

He came back a short while later with something in his hand, before Olivia could tell what it was he was throwing it at her. She caught a sweater, his sweater she inspected and lifted it up to gauge the size.

She eyed him with annoyance, "You shouldn't have." She spoke sarcastically.

"Beggars can't be choosers." He noted.

"Well I'm going to look like a beggar in this so no thank you." She threw it back at him matching the same force he had.

"Olivia." He warned annoyed, catching the sweater just in time.

"Elliot, it's way too big, and god only knows how long it's been in that locker of yours gathering mothballs." She bit back.

"Fine, sit there all day with your tits out I don't care." He said a little too loudly.

Her jaw dropped and she glared at him reeling inside that he insisted on creating such a fuss in front of everyone. Munch looked over at them catching Olivia's eye contact with a touch of sympathy and concern. Her eyes flicked back to Elliot.

"Charming Elliot, now can we get back to the case? Why do you think Jason isn't our guy?"

"The robbery charge. Paedophiles are generally law-abiding citizens by nature, apart from the obvious of course."

"I don't think that is entirely true, you're generalizing." Olivia added in disagreement.

"How many paedophiles do you know that robbed a bank?" Elliot questioned her riffling through his top draw.

"What about the kidnapping and indecent exposure, you're just going to ignore those." She reminded him.

"He kidnapped his own kid Olivia, it probably wasn't even kidnapping. His ex-wife probably just called the cops when he didn't bring the kids back on time." He didn't find what he was looking for and slammed it shut.

"Well instead of assuming all this, how about we find out for sure Elliot."

Before he could rebut she picked the phone up and began dialling, "Hi my name is Olivia Benson, a detective with SVU, I'm just after some case file details." Her voice had automatically assumed a professional tone.

As she was told to hold she nodded. "Thank you."

The hold music played and she grabbed a pen ready to scribe the information quoted. As the music drifted on, her eyes left the page and wandered over to Elliot, he was staring at her. Not at her breasts this time but at her face, looking at her intently with an unreadable expression. Surprisingly he didn't look away when she caught him and she matched his eye contact for a good while, trying to fathom just what he was doing.

The voice on the line came back to her and she jumped slightly, "Yes it's case no. 2357118," she quoted off the page in front of her. When she was put on hold once more her eyes casually moved over to Elliot once more, he was no longer looking at her instead he was attending to his cell phone vibrating against his hip.

She watched as he answered the phone, "Stabler." He said roughly. He nodded a couple of times. "Fine." He practically mumbled to the caller.

She wouldn't even be paying this much attention had it not been for his gazing beforehand. She was curious.

"No, I can't." He said trying to reduce the volume of his voice. His eyes flicked up and caught Olivia's, watching him this time.

"I have to go." He said as he held her glance, giving her an annoyed look.

She chewed on her lip.

"I said fine." He repeated again louder and curiosity was getting the better of her. He hung up the cell phone and she gave it a moment before she asked the question, "Who was that?"

"None of your business." He said sternly getting up from the desk and storming away.

She sighed and finally the hold music came to a halt, "Would you like the statement faxed or emailed ma'am."

"Faxed please." Olivia spoke on autopilot, in a world of her own.

Pulling the fax off the machine she read through the details of Jason's kidnapping. A 7-year-old Italian girl, no relation, missing for 2 weeks, no sign of sexual abuse but intense trauma suffered. No ransom offered, no contact with the family. Girl turned up 2 weeks later in a bathroom of a shopping centre.

Elliot was walking back to his desk just as she read the most of it.

"El," she almost reached grasping his forearm to stop him from passing. He stopped reluctantly, almost as if he were doing her a favour.

"The girl Jason kidnapped, no relation, missing for 2 weeks, no random offered. So obviously he didn't kidnap her for money." She expelled.

He snatched the paper from her hand almost giving her a paper cut. She jumped, briefly forgetting his tantrum earlier. He barely looked at the page for a second, "No sign of sexual abuse." He read out to her. "This is a waste of time." He tossed the page back to her and she caught it against her chest.

That was it.

"Elliot." Olivia began shocked and enraged, she managed to stifle her anger when she realized she wasn't prepared to yell at him in front of the station, "Can I see you out the back for a minute."

"I don't have time." He mumbled walking back to his desk and sitting down.

She swallowed the need to scream at him and walked over leaning down so only he could hear her, "I suggest you make time." She said with all the seriousness she could muster.

He turned to her, she was so close their faces almost brushed. He went to say something just as her cell phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket and he gave her a victorious smile that made her want to slap it right off his face.

She answered the phone in defeat and Elliot stood up again, pushing past her. His body unnecessarily

bumping hers as he did so causing her to stumble back.

She was furious.

She had managed to refrain from losing it earlier when he was being a prick, but to swing his mood faster than he can blink was another thing. She watched him walk away from her once more, barely listening to the voice on the other line. She considered following him, but quickly dismissed the idea as the voice on the other line became a little clearer, "I have the list you were after Ms Benson, all the members of the Mickey Mouse club dating back to 1980."

She smiled softy at her small victory. "Thank you so much."

Elliot came back to his desk but she was too busy scanning the newfound list to notice, or care. She could sense his discomfort as he sat down, waiting for her to pounce. She was entering the names into the missing children database just waiting for another hit. She could sense his eyes on her.

_Lacey Anderson_

_Katie Atkin_

_Joshua Ashton_

She typed the names in one after another chewing her bottom lip in anticipation.

Matthew Birk-

"What are you doing?" Elliot had rounded to her side curious as to what she was doing. He was already looking down at the list. She moved it away from him.

"Working Elliot, how about you do the same?"

He ignored her reading the screen, "Missing Children Database." He paused, "What's that list?" He pointed at the sheet she was fingering.

She sighed, "It's the Mickey Mouse fan club members list." She waited for it.

He scoffed, "You're wasting your time."

"We'll see." She said softly, determined to prove him wrong.

"No, we don't have time for this." He was forceful.

"Well when you have a stronger lead, let me know and I'll drop this." She looked him right in the eyes and gave him a pleasant smile.

He shook his head and retreated to his desk.

###

As the afternoon faded, the sun began setting and Olivia twisted in her seat stretching. Her back cracking slightly. She looked down realising she was still wearing that damn tank top, instantly she was reminded of the coffee incident and hence Elliot's behaviour today.

Elliot wasn't at his desk and most of the office had cleared out already. She wondered if perhaps he had gone home without telling her. It wouldn't surprise her.

She looked down at her list.

Nathan Thompson

Who would have thought there would be so many members? She was nearing the end of her list and the possibility that she would find a match was getting slimmer and slimmer. She knew Elliot would enjoy this way too much.

She kept in mind that she could still cross-reference these names in the violent crimes database and there was always that small chance their abduction hadn't been reported. But even she knew she was scraping the bottom of the barrel.

She scribbled a mark next to Nathan Thompson for tomorrow and clicked off her computer.

She got up making her way to the lockers, she noticed the clock above her said 8pm. She wondered where the time went. As she began pulling her things from the locker she could hear noises coming from the weight room. Curiosity got the better of her as she made her way inside.

She saw him on his back, lifting the weight with a struggle high above his body. She stopped for a moment and watched as his muscles buckled under the pressure of the force. Elliot often came in here when he was pissed off, angry or upset. It was his way of venting without talking and this was solid confirmation for Olivia that he was hiding something.

She should have said something, made it known that she was in the room but she couldn't take her eyes off his body. It wasn't often that she thought of him in this way, she would just steal these moments every now and then between the fighting, the cases, the partnership where she realised how damn attractive she found him. But she never let it linger.

"Elliot." She finally spoke, hard and determined.

He didn't flinch, like he had known she was there the whole time. He continued with his repetitions and she chewed on her lip.

"I'm heading off." She told him when she realised he wasn't going to fill the silence.

"Ok." He told her in a gruff exhale, struggling with the weight.

His eyes were closed as he was crunching in on these reps, she could tell it was getting hard for him.

She stood there watching, as if waiting for him to falter, to ask for her help to spot him.

Elliot asking for help. A pig would have to fly through hell while it froze over first.

"Is there something else?" He asked her snapping her from her thoughts.

"Yes." She said mostly to herself but realised she said it out loud.

She didn't have the energy to start up another unrelenting fight but he had been beyond out of line today. She had done enough backing down. She decided she'd confront him.

He continued pumping and she stepped a little closer to him, "Can you stop that for a minute please?"

She asked him, not really expecting him to do so.

He froze mid rep and looked over at her as if he were debating something in his head. Then he lifted the weight up high and placed it back on the holder. She moved in to help him but he'd managed himself.

As he sat up, his legs hanging off the bench, she realised she was ridiculously close to his sweaty body.

"Can you hand me that towel please?" He asked her and she sheepishly made her way to retrieve it for him. He followed her so that when she turned around with it he was already there, close and grabbing for it. She wondered why he had asked her to get it in the first place.

"So what is it?" He asked her directly, his breath rapid, his chest rising and falling.

She was a little bewildered, lost for words. His eyes drifted downward to her chest and that's when she remembered the tank top, the coffee, the complete asshole he had been to her today.

"I want to talk to you." She said with intent.

He was towelling himself off right in front of her, he had all the space in this room to do so but instead he had her backed up against this table.

"Then talk." He said smugly and she knew this would be pointless, but she began anyway.

"You've been a prick today Elliot, you've been rude all week but today you really exceeded asshole status. Now I don't know what's going on with you and to be honest I don't really care, but I'd appreciate it if tomorrow you'd treat me like your partner again." She had managed to get that out without faltering, despite the fact that his intense eyes weren't leaving hers. "Is that too much to ask?" She reinforced the statement a little short of breath.

"Did you get through your list?" He asked with a hint of a smile.

She was annoyed he had completely ignored her remark but she answered with defence, "Nearly." She told him.

"Any breaking leads?" His sweat and the sarcasm were both dripping out of him. He was toying with her.

"Not yet." She said through gritted teeth.

"Well then maybe tomorrow you can help me with something that's actually useful instead of wasting your time on pointless hunches." His words cut deep, she held his eyes with hers.

She'd had it. "Screw you Elliot." Her voice was deep and low.

She saw his eyes flicker, a reaction to her words but his face remained neutral.

"You speak to me like that one more time…" she waited a fraction longer before she continued, "and I'm talking to Cragen." Her eyes foreshadowed a seriousness Elliot had never seen before. She wondered if he would retreat.

He was watching her with caution, until finally he spoke.

"Why wait?" He said the words as he had stepped even closer. Her backside was now pushing into the table behind her and his sweat dripping body was inching it's way closer. "Cragen's in his office right now." He pointed out smugly.

Olivia was furious.

"What do you want Elliot?" She asked the question firmly, trying to ignore this new proximity, trying to obtain some distance with her words instead. "Do you want a new partner, is that it?"

He didn't answer her, he didn't look away.

"I don't understand why you are acting like this, I haven't done anything to-"

He scoffed cutting her off.

"So I've done something then?" She questioned stopping in disbelief, "What exactly have I done to deserve this?" She asked in disbelief.

He watched her closely with no intention of answering her.

"If you don't tell me what I've done, then we've got nothing, I'm not a mind reader Elliot." She was getting angry. Her ass was starting to hurt as she tried desperately to hold her body as far as way from his as she could.

"You've done absolutely nothing Olivia, you're so fucking innocent." His words soaked in sarcasm. She was just about to bite back when he cut her off.

"I'm going home." He told her bluntly, finally moving away from her giving her room to finally breathe.

She snapped.

She reached out before he could get far, grabbing his forearm, feeling his moist skin underneath her palm.

She'd wanted him away from her and now she was reaching for him. She needed answers.

"You're not leaving, until you answer me. What have I done?" She said infuriated, trying to pull him back towards her.

He resisted, "Nothing Olivia, just drop it." He warned, pulling his forearm from her grasp. Something in his eyes told her to give it up but he'd pushed her too far today and she wasn't going to let it go.

He was heading for the open door but she beat him too it, moving in front of him and blocking his exit.

"Tell me what's going on Elliot." She was fuming, "I'm not enduring another day of this B.S., so you're not leaving until you talk to me." She had made sure he'd have to physically move her to get out.

When he gave her no indication of complying she continued, "You owe me at least that."

That got him talking, "Oh I owe you do I? That's rich." He shook his head at her.

That's when he tried to side step her, intent on leaving this heated argument to stew. She wasn't going to let up that easy. She quickly stepped backwards with him, grabbing the door to the weight room and slamming it shut behind her. He'd stepped forward and intern backed her up against the door, suddenly he was extremely close. She had no room to move, he made sure of that.

He watched her for a good moment as he inched closer towards her, her eyes flicking with a moment of panic. Her chest was rising and falling as she took in short breaths. He was doing his best to intimidate the hell out of her.

"Move Olivia." It was a whisper but it was firm.

She just shook her head. "No." Her voice cracked and she could see the delight in his eyes that he was having this effect on her.

She hated herself at this point. What the hell was wrong with her? She was strong and confident, there was no way she'd take shit like this from him but as close as he was, she was almost paralysed. She could literally see the beads of sweat slide down his neck and pool into his tank top.

She urged herself to pull it together, build up some confidence and pay him back for hell he'd put her through. She did her best to stand up with him with her words, "You've spent all day waltzing around doing whatever the hell it is you want, now it's my turn." She managed to get through it without wavering.

"You think this is what I want?" He said annoyed, his face was only inches from hers.

"God knows what you want Elliot, why don't you damn well let me know." She wasn't breaking the eye contact if it killed her. She was intent on standing up to him on this.

That's when he moved closer and she flinched, figuring he was going for the door. She moved forward to stop him and he grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her body back against the door with his.

Just as she parted her lips to fire an accusation his way, he lent in capturing her bottom lip with his and pulling it determinedly into his mouth. The makings of her words now muffled by his lips.

She froze, blindsided at the fact that Elliot's lips were now on hers. He pushed her mouth open with his as he pressed her firmly against the door.

Her head was spinning. Her immediate thought was to push him off her, but there really wasn't any option at that point. She was completely caught of guard, unable to move and all she could do was stand there and endure his kiss.

His hands began to roam, one snaking around holding her hip against the door, the other sliding across the side of her cheek while he ransacked her lips. He tasted like coffee mixed with a hint of sweat.

His tongue made her way into her mouth and her eyes drifted to a close, she didn't care at that point she let him kiss her openly and passionately. She had made a point not to kiss him back but the temptation was overwhelming, the idea of sliding her tongue in to meet with his was mind numbing.

His lower half was pressing into her with urgency. She could feel the sweat from his body seep into her tank top and she had an overwhelming urge to moan into his mouth. She did her best to stifle any sort of satisfaction from this. He was a complete asshole for this and she was a complete idiot for letting him do it.

It would be so easy to push him off her.

'Stop.' Such an easy word in theory, but her body wouldn't comply. She wouldn't even allow herself to consider she wasn't stopping him because she didn't want to. His hand was now moving upward from her hip sliding across the coast of her torso. He drew her tank top up slightly, lightly skimming over the bare skin of her waist. Shivers pulsated through her body.

Her lips were almost burning from his and she wanted so badly to kiss him back with the same intensity, hard and hot but all she could manage at that point was to let him ravish her. Let him be responsible for this mistake. Of course it was a mistake, she'd be kidding herself to think otherwise. He was her partner, her friend and he was married.

Fuck.

She had to stop this, but he was moaning in her mouth now and his hip was pressing into her jeans. All she had to do was say one word, _'stop!'_ Even just his name would do, _'Elliot!'._ It didn't even have to be his whole name, _'El!'_

Moments from producing the first syllable a pounding knock on the other side of the door shook the room. Olivia's eyes snapped open and all that strength she'd lost before came to her suddenly, she pushed Elliot off her with force. He stumbled back slightly then steadied himself watching her intensely, she held his gaze unsure of what next.

Her fingers came up smoothing over her lips trying to dispel any evidence of foul play. Elliot just quickly licked his. She turned around quickly and pulled the door open, Munch had a quizzical expression at the sight of them closed away in the weight room with the door shut.

"Hey." Olivia said casually, waiting for Munch to explain his presence.

His eyes flicked to Elliot, "There you are." He said a little concerned. "I thought you'd left, I need your help on the Shelton case."

Olivia stood there with her back to Elliot thankful she didn't have to face him at this point, her fingers were gripping the door, almost penetrating. Her eyes were on Munch, praying Elliot would say something in response, so his concern wouldn't result in questions.

"I've only got half the file here," Munch continued when Elliot didn't, "you worked it a few months back right?" He waved the file in front of him as if to jog his memory.

Elliot finally nodded, "Can you just give us a minute, I'll be out in ten." Elliot told him, his voice dry and rough.

Olivia's stomach spiralled, just what did he intend to do in those ten minutes? Munch furrowed his eyebrows with concern, obviously not pleased with his answer. Olivia cleared her throat, taking this as a blessing, her only way out.

"Actually I was just leaving, so he's all yours." She told Munch with a forced smile. She didn't waste any time, before Elliot could rebut she was already out of that suffocating weight room and practically running out of the precinct.

###

**To be continued**


	2. Chapter 2

What the hell was that?

She sat there motionless staring at the red wine stain on her carpet she never got around to getting shampooed. Her lips still tingled from his kiss, her mind still racing, consumed with Elliot.

He went from treating her like shit all day to knocking the wind out of her in the weight room. No explanation, no warning, just hot, steamy and wrong. So wrong. What the hell was he thinking?

He is married.

She's Olivia.

She licked her lips no longer thinking about his tongue but how angry she was at him for doing that. It was completely out of line, fitting with everything else he did today. How exactly did he expect her to be after that?

Her eyes drifted back to the stain and immediately she was craving red wine, or anything with alcohol in it at that point, she needed to stop thinking about this. She already knew she wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight. She rose from the couch and walked into the kitchen, the bottle of wine was housed at the back of the cupboard, she rarely drank. She pulled down a glass and filled it half way when there was a knock at the door.

Her stomach dropped, she knew immediately who it was. No question and she wasn't answering it.

She stood still, careful not to make any movement. She eyed the glass of wine and swallowed.

There was a second knock, more intense this time and she closed her eyes, silently willing him to go away.

"Liv?" She heard his voice muffled through the door and her eyes snapped open. That pissed her off. How dare he call her Liv at a time like this? She wanted to answer it now just so she could slug the son of a bitch. She walked over to the door her fists clenching and pulled it open forcibly.

He stood there catching her eye contact for a second before looking away. "Hey." He said quietly.

She folded her arms. "Hey?" She questioned with a scowl, nearly erupting in laughter, "That's all you've got to say?"

His eyes wandered back to hers, he was just starring at her and it was unnerving. This silence he'd adopted threw her, he had dropped the alpha male prick attitude that he'd rode all day and now he was looking at her blankly, almost fearfully.

She raised her eyebrows at him, as if waiting for an answer. He didn't give an inch and that only made her anger rise. She moved to slam the door in his face but he finally snapped out of it and stepped forward. He grabbed the other side of the door and held it so it wouldn't close.

"What _do_ you want me to say?" He asked with defence.

Finally she saw some anger, she could deal with angry Elliot. She opened the door so she could fight back.

"Explain what the hell that was back there and apologize." She pressed. Her expression gave the impression he was an idiot for even asking.

His features morphed into sarcasm, "It was a kiss Olivia and I'm not going to apologize for something I'm not sorry for." He said so matter-of-factly. She didn't concentrate on the fact that there was no regret in his eyes, meaning it would be something he'd do over again, she concentrated on the fact that he was not willing to take responsibility for the onslaught he had caused.

"Oh you're not sorry?" Olivia stabbed, anger taking over, "You're not sorry that you single handily sabotaged our partnership?" Her grip on the door remained, as if she was going to slam it in his face again at any moment.

He rolled his eyes, "Don't be so dramatic." He cut her off.

Her eyes went wide, "How can you stand there and belittle the situation Elliot? Do realise what you've done? What the hell were you thinking? Why would you do that?" She fired question after question at him.

He watched her for moment, his eyes trailing over her, noting she was still in that bloody tank top. Each moment he took to answer her amplified her anger. His eyes drew her back in and she waited for any kind of explanation.

"You asked me what I wanted…" He said bluntly, leaving her to put the pieces together.

Her stomach spiralled, and she tried to stay strong. "I can't believe you." Her words were dripping in venom, she shook her head at him. Her fingernails were almost digging into the door, she was willing herself to calm down. Her head dropped and she was staring at the floor tired and uneasy that he was here to begin with.

"By the looks of things, it was what you wanted too." He dropped the bombshell.

Her eyes rose up to him immediately, she nearly laughed, "You think _that's_ what I wanted?" She shook him off, "You've got to be kidding me." She tried to stay strong in control but the way he was looking at her was making her weaken.

"You kissed me back." He noted.

"No, actually I didn't." She was quick to deny it. Finally thankful that she resisted the urge to slide her tongue in to meet with his.

"You didn't stop me." He fired back.

"Yes, I did." She said sternly.

"Right… " He smirked, knowing he had her. "At the eleventh hour when you realised we were about to get caught."

Her throat caught, she knew she should have pushed him off earlier, immediately even. He had it all over her now, she had no excuses left so she tried for a low blow.

"You caught me off guard Elliot, I was blindsided." Nerves swarming inside her as she tried to get out of it. She knew he wouldn't let her off the hook.

"You had ample time to stop me and you know it." He concluded, his lips tilting upward into the makings of a smile.

She was about to respond when his eyes flickered in delight, as if he'd just realised something, his smile broadening. "Tell me something," he began and she swallowed. "When were you going to stop me? Or were you going to at all? If Munch hadn't had walked in when he did, how far would you-"

"I would have stopped you." She said firmly cutting him off, she knew where he was going with this and didn't want to hear it. "I was about to when Munch knocked." She knew it sounded doubtful.

He laughed, "Likely story, I guess we'll never know." He told her evidently not buying it.

Her emotions flicked back to anger, she'd had enough of this attack, "Believe what you want Elliot, I don't want to discuss this anymore."

"Too bad." He informed her, pushing his way into her apartment. She reached out to grab him, stop him in his tracks but refrained. The idea of touching him right now was not going to help the situation.

She sucked in a breath as she watched him walk towards the kitchen. She'd have to stop him with her words. "Elliot, I'm serious, I don't want to talk about this and I think you should go." She was still holding the door, as if expecting him to walk back out.

Her words were quickly dismissed. "Winding down are we?" He asked as he reached the bench, lifting the half full glass of wine.

"Yeah, it's been a rough day." She raised her eyebrows as if to suggest he was the reason. He began drinking from the glass and slammed the door in frustration. She didn't waste time, she walked over to him pulling his hand down immediately. She had forgotten the no touching rule she'd established and swallowed at the contact. She touched the hand, that only hours ago was roaming across her body.

"Don't." She managed to choke out.

"What? There's enough to go round." He observed indicating the full bottle.

"That's not the point…I don't want you here." She told him roughly.

"What _do_ you want Olivia?" He asked like he was oddly curious of the answer. He watched her carefully, as she tried to decipher what exactly he meant from his question. "Another painful day tomorrow, no resolution?" He helped her out.

"Hey, I was prepared to resolve this, all day I was trying to talk to you but you were unwilling to meet me half way, instead you were just a complete asshole to me. Then you turn around and…" Her words trailed off and she just looked at him, trying to figure out a way to finish her rant without saying the words.

"Turn around and… what?" His words were suggestive, he wanted her to say it but she wouldn't give him that satisfaction.

"Screw up everything. I just don't understand you." She watched him, a ropable expression on her face.

"I kissed you Olivia, I didn't kill your first born child so why don't you leave the melodramatics alone for a moment and get real." He pointed out angrily.

"No, why don't you go _home_ Elliot," she suggested in a yell, "go home to your wife." She could see her words cut deep and he took a step back. He looked away for a moment. She had him then, vulnerable and retreating, she had to act on it.

"That's right, your wife, did you forget about her?" She questioned with sarcasm, "Because I didn't." She snatched the glass from the table and took the bottle with her to the couch. As she sat down she drained the remains of the glass and began to refill it. He slowly walked over to where she was sitting.

"It's not like that." He said softly.

Olivia just laughed, she didn't even look over at him. "Of course not." She mumbled as she took a generous sip from the glass.

"Look, I'm sorry ok." He told her and she looked over at him, a cynical look on her face.

"I'm sorry for acting like a jerk today, for treating you…" He let his words linger hoping she wouldn't need him to continue. She still couldn't understand why he wasn't apologising for crossing the line.

She sighed, that was all he was going to give her, "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

"That's not enough for you?" He questioned, anger rising.

It wasn't enough, she wanted him to apologise for everything. The comments, the moods, the insults, the disrespect, that mind blowing fucking kiss that was now burnt into her mind. Or better yet she wanted him to turn back time and get his fucking hands off her so the first thing she thought of when she closed her eyes was not his body on hers.

"Elliot, I said it was fine, now just go." She was beyond trying with him.

"No, I want to know exactly expect from me, you want me to apologize yet you won't accept it?" He wouldn't let up.

She placed her glass down on the table and stood up walking over to him, "Elliot, I expect you to go home, forget today ever happened and tomorrow, treat me with the dignity and respect that I treat you with every day. I don't want to discuss the weight room again, I don't even want to discuss your behaviour during the past few days, I don't care why you are acting the way you are acting, I just want it to stop. So please can we just start fresh and get on with our jobs, ok, that's what I want."

He rolled his eyes, "How healthy, let's just ignore it and hope it goes away. Good plan." He said with mockery.

"Elliot," She yelled, "I am trying! I think I've been quite reasonable through all of this, you on the other hand seem intent to screw things over for good, so do you want me to talk to Cragen? Is that it? Because I'll do it, I don't care, if you're not going to even try and meet me half way then I'm moments from giving up. So just try me." She dared him with her words.

He watched her strangely, trying to determine if she was bluffing, he didn't know. His eyes wandered down to her tank top again and the silence was almost stifling.

"You still haven't changed your top." He finally noted out loud. That damn top.

She stepped forward determinedly, closing the distance between them, "Did you even hear a word I said?" She was clenching her jaw, the look in her eyes almost begging him to push her.

"I heard you Liv, loud and clear." He said told her directly, "but I can't promise anything."

Her eyes narrowed, "Get out Elliot, I've had enough." She was livid at his in ability to even compromise. "If you're not even willing to try-"

His words cut her off, "I'll try Olivia, but I'm just being realistic, I can't promise you things will be peachy tomorrow, just like I can't promise you the weight room won't happen again." His words rattled her.

Her stomach dropped, and she felt a redness seeping into her cheeks. Was he really suggesting he'd try that again? She looked away shaking her head, she couldn't believe his nerve. She finally got control of herself, drawing her eyes back to his, her voice took on a serious tone.

"The weight room will not happen again Elliot, that I can assure you."

He stepped closer to her, she was just waiting for another smart arse cocky remark. His eyes were searching hers, but she had misjudged his next move.

His lips pushed against hers, he had swooped in so fast she didn't have time to step back. His arms encircled her waist, pulling her into him, drawing her lower lip between his. She wasted no time, pushing him firmly off her. His lips left hers as did the hold he had on her.

"Don't!" She said with anger, her voice wavered. She tried to be strong.

He gauged her for a moment, but didn't honour her request. He stepped towards her slowly and she began backing away from him recreating the distance he was removing. She wasn't letting him get any closer. As the back of her knees came in contact with the side of the couch she realised she had no space left to retreat. His body sandwiched hers between him and the couch.

"Elliot." She said his name as a warning as his face inched towards hers, but he didn't seem phased. His confidence was out of place and somewhat alarming. It completely threw her.

She put up her hand up to stop him lips from getting any closer, but he only grasped it, using it as leverage to pull her into him.

He was kissing her again and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Even she could admit she barely tried to deter him. She closed her eyes as he deepened the kiss, her anger had subsided monetarily and she had taken on a carefree attitude. If he is going to screw things up, she would just let him. It was his funeral.

Just as she had made the executive decision that she would let the kiss play out before ending it, he went over her head, falling into her body causing her to lose balance and fall onto the couch.

His body came down on top of her and she winced in shock. He moved up settling into her comfortably and she was just coming to terms with the fact that Elliot had so smoothly found himself of top of her. His lips were dangling above her and he was looking down at her with a small smile. A cocky smile, knowing he had her, for that moment at least.

She was going to wipe that smile off his face. She quickly moved up kissing him firmly, and pulling his face down with hers. She let her hands frame his face as she moved his lips apart with hers. She took joy in the fact that it was her catching him off guard this time.

She slid her tongue between his lips and he moaned instantly at her sudden participation. She could feel

his lower half pressing into hers and she was having a hard time convincing herself to end this any time soon. She was sucking his top lip between hers when he surprised her further by smoothing his right hand over her breast. The breasts he'd been staring at all day in that tank top. His forward actions were surprising, up until recently he had barely even looked at her breasts let alone groped them. All of this was happening too fast.

She mumbled his name against his lips but it might as well have been a moan it was that muffled.

His hand was running over her upper arms causing goose bumps to break across her skin. His lips left hers, trailing across her cheek and down her neck. With her mouth free to tell him to stop she hesitated as he kissed her neck with passion causing pleasure to flood through her. She closed her eyes, she needed some sort of strength to stop him or she didn't know where this could go.

"El." Was all she could say and the tone was in no way an instruction to stop. He moaned into her neck and his lips finally made their way back to hers. She was stuck, his lips between hers again, his tongue finding it way back into her mouth. She would need an earthquake to stop this from happening. Or a cell phone. She felt the vibration against her hip and she wondered for a moment what it was. When it began to ring she realised with relief that yes, it was his cell phone. Halleluiah. He wasn't stopping, but now she had a reason to.

She pushed his lips reluctantly off hers, "Elliot." He made motions to return to the kiss but she turned her head, "You should get that." She told him unable to look him in the eye. When he didn't oblige she pushed the matter, "It could be work."

He sighed and reached down between them, accidentally grazing her thigh as he pulled it from his pocket. "Stabler." He answered a little out of breath. She had hoped he would have gotten off her to answer his phone but she was out of luck.

"Elliot, it's me, where are you?" Came the loud shrill from the other side. Olivia could hear every word the phone was so close to her ear. She could hear that voice, the one she would recognise anywhere.

Elliot moved slightly bumping Olivia to look at his watch, "Sorry, I'm still at the office, I'll be there in 10 minutes."

Olivia shook her head, she could not believe what was happening. Here he was lying on top of her, lying to his wife and suddenly she was the 'other woman'. She'd had enough. She pushed Elliot hard, almost hit him in an effort to get him off her. He looked down at her confused and a little hurt. He was watching her as Olivia heard the end of Kathy's rant, "If you're not going to take this seriously…you were supposed to be here an hour ago."

'Get off me' Olivia mouthed to Elliot with a strong seriousness, his eyes still on her. He began to get up, giving her room to move out from underneath him. She took it immediately, nearly causing him to fall down in her pursuit.

"Fine, I said I'll be there in 10 minutes." He said gruffly before hanging up.

When he turned Olivia was already at her door, holding it open for him, barely looking his way.

"Liv." He began stepping towards her.

"Don't, ok don't, just go." She told him, her adrenaline pumping.

He gave her a look that said he was sorry yet he couldn't find the words.

"There is just something I have to take care of." He tried to explain.

"Yeah Elliot, your wife." She said sarcastically, "I'll see you at work." She told him formally, waiting for him to leave. When he still stood there stationary she continued. "Ok?" The question boomed through the open hallway.

"Ok." He said quietly before exiting.

###

**To be continued**


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for your reviews everyone. Here is more of this story, let me know if you want more.

:::

The next day was painful.

Walking up to her desk Olivia was a wreck, she had barely slept last night. Taking a seat she slipped off her coat and glanced at her coffee mug. She needed coffee badly. Half way into pouring the milk she could sense him behind her.

"Hey." He said almost in a whisper as if the two of them talking would be suspicious.

She stirred the milk so it melted into the black liquid creating a light brown temptation.

"Hi." She mumbled, not even looking up at his presence.

"Listen, I'm sorry about last night, let me explain." His tone was uneasy, yet calculated like he had been practicing this conversation all night.

"Elliot, there is no need for an explanation, ok. I get it." She picked up her mug and began making her way back to her desk.

"I don't think you do." He followed her close on her heals.

She turned around quickly and he stopped himself from running into her, "What's not to get? Can we please just forget this?" She gave him a plea soaked look hoping he would drop it.

He went to respond when Fin entered the station, "Morning." He announced as he made his way through to the lockers.

They were no longer alone, so Elliot let Olivia off this time, but not without his final word.

"We'll talk later, this isn't over." He assured her.

She considered being childish, flying back with an intensified 'Yes it is!' but she gave in, somewhat satisfied that he was content to drop it for now. As she sat down with her coffee she noticed the list still plaguing her on her desk. She was instantly reminded of how painful yesterday was.

_Nathan Thompson_

The name she had left it at. She clicked on her computer and sipped at her coffee, it was hot and bitter just the way she liked it. She noticed Elliot wasn't looking in her direction, he had sat down opposite her pretended to busy himself with the notes scattered across his desk.

This was going to be a long day.

She made her way into the database and began a new search. She smiled to herself in the hope that maybe she would be cut a break and that maybe Nathan Thompson was the name she was looking for all along. As she typed in each letter she held her breath as she clicked the search button.

No match.

She sighed. She ploughed through the reminder of the list, now convinced that she wasn't going to turn up with anything and she had wasted her time. All she needed was one more hit to at least make a connection for a lead. She didn't think she would be so lucky.

As she made her way into the V's Elliot walked past her desk, catching her mission as he passed.

"You're not still doing that list are you?" He said in shock.

She bit her lip, here we go again, asshole Elliot back in full force.

"Yes Elliot." She gritted her teeth.

He pulled the list from her desk.

"V." He announced, "You've gotten all the way to V and yet nothing. When are you going to give up?" He said annoyed.

She snatched the list from his grip in a childlike fashion, "When I get to Z Elliot, that's the end." She mocked him.

"No, you're giving up now." He said, pulling the list from her grip and tossing it into the trashcan.

She gripped the side of her desk trying to steady herself from blowing up, faces around the office were already looking their way and she was trying her best to stay calm.

"It will take me less than an hour Elliot, it's going to seem pretty pointless if one of those Z's is a victim." She said it all in the calmest manner she could manage.

"In an hour we could have another victim on our hands." He pressed the issue.

She was pulling the list from the bin, barely paying attention to him.

"I'm finishing the list Elliot, how about you do something half productive." She mumbled entering the next name into the system.

He had noticed the eyes and ears in the room and obviously concluded it wouldn't be worth it to pursue her. He reluctantly walked back to his desk and picked up the phone. She pretended not to be interested in the call but listened with a keen ear.

"Hi it's Elliot Stabler with the Special Victims Unit, can I have all known information on Maria Luckata?" Olivia's eyes narrowed as her fingers froze over the keyboard, not wanting the taping to drown out Elliot's words.

She listened as he explained what he required and gave them the fax number. She chewed on her lip, anxious for him to get off the phone so she could find out just what he was doing.

As soon as the phone hit the cradle Olivia called him on it, "Elliot that lead was dry, she had nothing to offer us."

"Exactly, maybe she had something to hide." He told her barely looking at her.

She shook her head, refusing to get into the semantics and continued with her list.

Finally she had reached the last name, she felt defeated and small. She didn't even pretend to hope that Julie Zillmerman would be a hit, she knew it was over.

'NO MATCH FOUND'

The words blared at her as if taunting her. Elliot was busying himself in the pages of the fax he'd been sent on Maria. She subtly pushed the list into a stack of papers she deemed no longer useful and grabbed her coffee mug, heading for the faithful machine once more. As she made her second cup she looked at her watch noticing it wasn't even 9:30 and she would already be caffeine overloaded.

She made her way back to her desk and casually asked, "So any dirt on Maria?" She didn't mean to sound skeptical but it had come out that way.

"More luck than you had on your list." He said childishly scanning through the papers.

She chose to ignore him standing up and making her way to his side of the desk, "What have you found?"

"She was abused as a child." He mumbled. Father was sent to prison when she was three.

"Sexual or physical?" Olivia inquired.

"Does it matter?" Elliot said with annoyance.

"Yes, it does. These children were molested and then murdered so it's relevant. If it was only physical then-"

"In 1996 she was fired for unorthodox behaviour involving the child in her care." He cut her off. "But I'm sure you'll shoot holes through that fact as well." He looked up at her almost waiting for it.

She was stunned, "I'm just talking Elliot, I'm not shooting you down. I asked a simple question, was it physical or sexual?"

"Physical, but you've spoken to Haung,we all know it only takes is a couple of bruises and you can be damaged goods." His voice was raised and his features were heated.

"Ok, Jesus would you calm down. I'm just asking." She told him.

"Just go back to your list Olivia." He said bitterly shaking his head.

She sighed, "I've finished." She informed him unwillingly, knowing what was coming.

"Oh," suddenly he took interest in the situation, "well how did that work out for you? Hours of your time shot to hell I can imagine, are you ready to do some actual work now?" He was beyond pushing it.

"Fuck you." She muttered almost under her breath. 'Fuck you' for everything she thought.

"What was that?" He said with a laugh of surprise. He actually stood up to face her, ready to hear this.

When she didn't answer he went further.

"What did you just say to me?" He said with half a smile.

"You heard me." She said eyeing him like the devil.

"You want me to fuck you?" He whispered with a phoney confused look on his face.

She could have hit him, right there a hard slug to the left side of his face. She could almost hear the crack.

"Is that it? I didn't hear you." He stepped closer to her as if to hear her.

"Go to hell Elliot." She said bitterly his face inches away, she then made motions to walk away from him. At the last moment she hesitated turning back, "Just for the record…you did this." She informed him, before turning around and heading directly towards Cragen's office.

If he had attempted to stop her she wouldn't have known because she didn't look back. She made a bee line directly to Cragen's door without wasting time knocked on it determinedly. She could see through the crack in the blinds that Cragen was waving her in. She pulled open the door and stepped in, he was just placing the phone down and suddenly she felt guilty for interrupting.

"What is it?" Cragen asked with concern, she noticed a little hopeful tone in his voice that he suspected we had a break on the case.

"Captain…" She began, as she took a seat in front of him. "I can't do this anymore." She told him openly.

His eyebrows drew together in confusion, "Do what?"

"Deal with Elliot." She summarised.

He didn't look as surprised as she thought he would.

"I know." He agreed with her, "He's been a little… trying lately."

She inwardly sighed with relief that she wasn't the only one who saw it.

"So you have noticed the way he talks to me and the way he's been acting lately?" She questioned.

Cragen nodded, "I know he has been a little out of line."

A little? Olivia wanted to laugh.

Cragen sat back in his chair continuing, "But given the circumstances I think we should cut him a little slack."

Now it was Olivia's eyebrows that furrowed in confusion.

She was moments away from asking him what he was talking about when she stopped and nodded. If she questioned him, he may not tell her, where as if Cragen already assumed she knew, she might not have to ask.

"I mean how would you be acting if your wife of 20 years filed for divorce out of the blue."

Bingo.

Her mouth dropped, she couldn't fake it any longer "Kathy filed for divorce?" She asked wide-eyed.

Cragen studied her, "I thought you knew?"

"No, I didn't." She twisted in her seat.

"I was sure he told you. I mean Fin and Munch know."

Olivia slunk black in her chair, suddenly feeling very out of the loop.

"When?" She asked trying hard not to falter.

"About a month ago." He said softly, knowing she wouldn't take it well.

A month, a whole month and he'd said nothing. All those stakeouts, lunch breaks, morning coffee conversations and he'd said nothing. She was reeling inside, she couldn't wait to get back out there and punch him hard in the face like she'd pictured doing earlier.

"Well it was a month ago when she filed for divorce, about a week ago when he signed the papers."

Pieces began to fall into place. A week ago when he started treating her like shit, a week ago when perhaps the denial had faded and he had signed his old life away. She couldn't believe he just gave up without a fight.

"He signed them?" She questioned, "Just like that?"

Cragen shifted in his chair, realising they were getting off track, "Look I don't know all the in's and out's, I just know his behaviour although not excusable recently is tolerable for the time being."

Olivia's eyes narrowed, "So you think it's appropriate for him to shoot down my every statement in front of the entire station?"

Cragen gave her a helpless look, like she didn't have much of a case. She racked her brain for a better excuse but anything she could reference would only incriminate their recent inappropriate behaviour in the weight room and on her couch.

She had a gold mine in his last statement to her. _'You want me to fuck you?'_ It gave her shivers thinking about it, but repeating it Cragen would open up a whole other can of worms.

"So I just have to take it then? The insults, the sarcasm, the derogatory remarks?" Olivia threw her hands up in defeat.

He studied her, partially sympathetic, "Give him till the end of the week."

She looked away defeated.

"If he's still acting up, I'll talk to him." Cragen suggested.

"Ok." She got up, she could say a lot worse but she didn't want to push it. "Thanks." She mumbled as she walked to the door.

"Liv," he called out before she left. She turned around to his call.

"You've put him in his place before, stand up for yourself, don't let him get away with it."

She smiled to herself knowingly and nodded before leaving. She could hear the phone ring through Cragen's office as she shut the door. He was right, she never used to take shit from him, it was only recently that she would start to walk on egg shells, please him before she pleased herself. Now, ever since that devastating kiss in the weight room, she'd lost even more control. It was time to take it back.

As she took her seat at her desk she was sure she would be subjected to questions and condescending remarks about her visit to Cragen. He was just about to open his mouth when Cragen came bursting out of his office a concerned but purposeful look on his face.

"Olivia, Elliot, a young boy has just been reported missing, same MO, taken from his bed in midtown, same note. We need you there on the scene."

Elliot was pulling on his coat before he had finished his sentence, "Lets go." He called out to Olivia who was already following his lead, pulling on her coat.

:::

The car ride was silent and uncomfortable for a multitude of reasons. Mainly the fury Olivia was feeling towards Elliot's complete lack of communication regarding his marriage. She dabbled in the idea of bring it up but she knew it wasn't the time or the place.

"We put Jonathan to bed at 7 o'clock, and then Marshall came in to check on him at around 9pm and he was fine."

Olivia nodded as she took down the notes the distraught mother gave her.

"Then I came in to wake him up for school and he was…" her words trailed off as her tears began to stream.

"I know this must be hard, but I was told there was a note?" Olivia questioned trying to sound sympathetic to the situation.

The woman motioned to Elliot who was on the other side of the room, inspecting the note preserved in an evidence bag. Olivia nodded, and walked up to Elliot glancing at the familiar text from the previous case.

She motioned for him to let her read it and he handed it over to her and walked away.

'_Roses are red, Violets are black, Johnny is not 'missing', you won't get him back.'_

Olivia's eyes widened, a very harsh way of informing us he intends to kill the child. Elliot had walked over to the woman and she listened as he spoke to her. "Mrs Thompson, did you hear anything, anything at all during the night?"

Olivia opened the draws of the dresser and began lightly rummaging through. Nothing out of the ordinarily and she knew it was probably a waste of time since the forensics had already run through them, but she continued regardless.

Elliot wrapped up the questions and made his way over to Olivia just as she was pulling open the last draw. She stilled as she looked inside, slowly she pulled out the Mickey Mouse plush doll. She heard Elliot sigh in her ear and he quickly pulled the toy from her grasp.

"Don't." He warned her quietly and she just watched him as he placed it back in the draw and shut it.

Walking back to the mother she overheard Elliot wrapping things up.

"If you need anything at all here is my card, if you hear anything at all please don't hesitate to give us a call, we'll be in contact."

He didn't even look over his shoulder to ensure Olivia was following him. She clenched her fists and sucked in a breath.

Elliot already had the car started and he was practically revving the engine. She was surprised he hadn't just driven away without her at this rate. She sild into the passengers seat and pulled on her seatbelt. He already had the car in motion before she had it buckled.

The car was filled with silence and Olivia chose to glance out the window, focusing on the world around her instead of the tension inside.

When a good portion of their trip was out of the way Elliot finally broke the silence, "So you're not talking to _me_ now?" Elliot voice echoed through the car as he pulled to a stoplight.

Her eyebrows rose at the fact he was even questioning her silence. She shook her head at the insanity and cleared her throat, still refusing to answer him.

Luckily her phone was vibrating against her hip. She answered quickly, "Benson."

It was Cragen, and he wanted an update.

"No fingerprints, no sign of entry or foul play. Just the note." Olivia informed him.

She paused as he asked what it said.

She read it off the card in her hand. "Roses are red, Violets are black, Johnny is not 'missing', you won't get him back."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"Captain?" She asked when she couldn't hear anything.

"This doesn't sound good." He told her.

Olivia nodded, "I know, Emily's note was far less threatening, I don't have a good feeling about this."

"I'm gonna get Fin and Munch on this as well, they can take the note into ballistics while the two of you work on the evidence you've found any other avenues you feel are worth pursuing."

She nodded again despite Cragen being unable to see her.

"Ok, we aren't far away." Olivia informed him and she clicked off the phone.

The car was enveloped in silence once more. Olivia chewed on her lip in frustration, she was worried. Their killer had practically informed them Johnny was dead if not dying and they couldn't do anything about it. Elliot was still silent as Olivia re-read the note in her hand.

"Fin and Munch are going to take this note into ballistics, he wants us to look into all possible avenues." She repeated Cragen's spiel.

"What avenues, that boy is as good as dead." Elliot muttered more so to himself.

Olivia sucked in a breath, "I know this doesn't look good, but we can't just give up, we have to consider all possibilities, we can revisit Emily's case, decipher any links, there is always the possibility the killer will contact the Thompson's for a ransom-"

"Ransom?" Elliot cut her off rudely laughing, "This guy isn't interested in money, he has fucking stated that in black and white Olivia, so don't even waste your time."

She was through defending herself, she was through communicating with him, she was through _with_ him. He had some nerve to talk to her like that and instead of getting all worked up and cussing back at him she sat there steadying herself and mentally brainstorming all the other possibilities regarding this case.

Three traffic lights later, the silence was almost a permanent fixture in the car. She was mentally mulling over a few details from Emily's case, trying to remember anything that may connect with Johnny's when Elliot interrupted her thoughts.

"So now you are back to the silent treatment, how mature of you." Elliot spoke irritably. She looked over at him with a tired expression on her face.

"It's not the silent treatment Elliot, forgive me if I want to avoid being patronized." She spoke honestly, turning her attention back to the window.

"Call it what you want." He mumbled as he pulled to another stoplight.

With an edge of exhaustion to her words Olivia retorted, "Elliot do you have something to say to me?" Her brown eyes waited for his and when he finally looked over at her, she held them for any sort of answer. He watched her for a moment. A mixture of pain and nervousness flew through her at the prospect at what he might say.

He shook his head, needlessly following his gesture with a single word, "No."

She sighed quietly and turned once more to the world outside theirs.

Back at the station she was collating the information she received from the crime scene. Jonathan Thompson, eight years old, missing, assumed dead.

She was sorting through the scattered papers on her desk she came across the list she had spent so much time on. She shook her head and angrily picked it up, moments from tossing it into the trashcan. Her eyes froze on the name she had marked a spot beside.

_Nathan Thompson._

Quite a coincidence she thought. She looked across and spotted Elliot over the other side of the room talking to Fin. Quickly and without a moment of hesitation she picked up the phone and dialed the number on the list.

"Hi this is detective Olivia Benson with the special victims unit…" her words were close to a whisper.

"Can you please fax over the original membership form for Nathan Thompson, membership number 542354."

She quoted from the page. As the woman on the other line was noting her request Olivia looked up. Elliot caught her eye and she looked away too quickly. She knew she was being overly cautious hiding this but she couldn't take another argument with him.

"It's 555 2598. Thank you very much." She said just as Elliot made his way back to the desk. She put the phone down and slid the list between some papers as he sat down. He was eyeing her curiously trying to figure out what she was up to.

"Who was that?" He asked her fiddling with a pencil, leaning back in his chair. Just as she was deliberating a cover Elliot's phone saved her the trouble. He was still watching her, waiting for her to answer but she didn't, instead she just gestured his phone with her eyes. Reluctantly he answered it and she took that opportunity to stand up and make her way over to the fax machine.

It was an anxious wait, she knew Elliot would come and hound her after his phone call had ended. Just as the light on the machine turned on Elliot hung up and made a bee line for Olivia.

"Grab your coat, Maria's former employer has some information for us." He said with a victorious smile plastered over his face.

Olivia chewed the inside of her cheek, watching the fax machine out of the corner of her eye.

"You go ahead." She told him sucking in a breath, "I've some things I need to tie up."

He studied her skeptically, "What things?"

"Just some things Elliot, ok it's just an interview, you don't need me there." She told him directly.

He was about to say something but really he had nothing. They didn't always race off to these things together so he had no reason to question her. Elliot's eyes made their way down to the fax machine and she held her breath as it start to whir.

Just as the page started to emerge when he cleared his throat.

"Ok." He gave in and walked away grabbing his coat just as the letterhead of the Mickey Mouse fan club letter head peered out from the machine.

She snatched the form quickly and took it to her desk. She studied the information provided. 'Nathan Thompson' scribed in a child's writing, the child had filled it out himself. She squinted at the address portion, she couldn't make it out at first until suddenly it became clear. '145 Shelton Lane'. She sucked in a breath, it was the house they had just visited. She read the date of birth, quickly deciphering his age was eight but it was just the name that plagued her. Nathan. Jonathan was an only child so it couldn't have been his twin.

She noticed a little mark before his name so she turned on her overhead light to get a better look. There was a small dash of ink and a few lines on the paper before his name began. She quickly searched for a pencil but couldn't find one on her desk. She stood up leaning over and grabbing the one Elliot had been fiddling with earlier.

She slowly drew a line down towards the dip of ink forming and 'J' and then placed an 'o' in the space between Nathan. She sat back looking at the name

Jo nathan.

Jonathan. The pen hadn't worked when the child had begun writing his name. Whoever had put his name into the database hadn't noticed. She smiled to herself and made her way towards Cragen's office.

:::

She had spent the rest of the day interviewing the managing director of the fan club and several employees. She had informed them of the situation and proceeded to get the membership department to provide a list of all members over the age of 20. There were multitudes. She never realized how many adult members they had. She had figured it was either a staff member who had access to the list or a member who had access.

So far her interviews hadn't turned up anything concrete but she was confident she was on the right track. It was getting late, she considered heading back to the station but the thought of dealing with Elliot was making her head spin. She took the stack of documents with her as she headed home.

:::

The papers were scattered before her as she sat on her couch. She rubbed her eyes and then blinked glancing at the clock. 1:45am. She needed to get some sleep.

A hard knock on her door snapped her awake. Her heart began racing as she stood up and slowly made her way towards the door, noting her gun was in close range she looked through the peephole. Elliot. She closed her eyes sighing. Maybe if she just stood still he would give up and assume she was asleep.

"Olivia. I can hear you, open the door." His voice was so loud it echoed through the hallway. She looked down, she was wearing a cream tank top and her pajama bottoms. Moments from walking over to grab a sweater she heard him again.

"Olivia?!" He yelled through the door.

She pulled the door open instantly and stepped forward, grabbing his wrist and pulling him into the apartment, shutting the door behind them.

"Jesus Elliot, what is it? I have neighbors you know!" She pointed out in a loud whisper.

"What is it?" He repeated the question, "Oh, I've just spent the past five hours wondering why it is my partner doesn't trust me anymore."

She sighed realizing Cragen must have informed him of her whereabouts today. She could see the anger in Elliot's eyes but she couldn't help herself. "It took you five hours to figure that out." She hinted at the makings of a small smile.

"You think this is a joke?" He scrunched up his features, "I have to find out from Cragen that you had a major break in the case, while I'm out interviewing a family whose last involvement was over 15 years ago!" He yelled.

She folded her arms in front of her, the adrenaline was pumping and she was ready to even the score, "Oh yeah, and how did that go? Any major breakthroughs?" Her words were dripping in sarcasm.

His eyes narrowed at her in disbelief, "Fuck you." He yelled at her beyond pissed off.

She stepped towards him, letting her hands fall from their crossed position to their sides. "What was that?" She asked with a glare. She was being a smartass but she needed this, to give him what he deserved. "What did you say to me?" She was close now, so close, with only the slightest hint of a smile behind her eyes, "You want me to fuck you?"

Her words cut deep and he stepped back a couple of paces, moving away from her. He broke off the eye contact and she knew then that she had the power in this instance and that she'd finally put him in his place. She was still watching him, like a caged mouse, waiting for a response. Then out of no where he regained some strength. He moved back to where he was standing and got into her face, "What the hell is your problem?"

She licked her lips gearing for a fight, "You're the one with the problem Elliot, so why don't you tell me."

"My only problem with you is what you did today. Do you know how embarrassing it was to find out from Cragen that my partner was off doing our job without me? He couldn't figure out why you wouldn't have told me."

"Yeah well I bet you can," she responded in almost a whisper. "And don't even try to deny you were against this whole lead to begin with, what did you call it? A waste of time? You told me to do some 'actual work'. So if you weren't going to support my theory I was going to investigate it alone." She almost laughed, "I mean if it weren't for you holding me back, I'd probably have this case solved by now."

Something flickered in his eyes, "I'm holding you back?" He asked her in a low voice. "Well if I'm holding you back maybe you should request another partner." He told her directly.

She smiled, knowing she had the next battle in the bag. "I already did Elliot, Cragen told me to give you another chance."

If she didn't know any better she could have sworn he looked hurt by her words, in pain almost.

"You requested a new partner?" He said slowly in disbelief.

"Yes Elliot, I told him I've had enough of your B.S. You've been treating me like shit for over a week now and I shouldn't have to take it." She stepped towards him, "So, if you want to get all worked up over that fact that I did my job alone today because I didn't want to deal with your crap then fine. I have more on you than I even need to use, but push me any further and believe me I will."

Elliot nearly laughed, "Oh , you're threatening me now Olivia? How tactful." He started to step towards her shortening the distance between them. He got too close and she stepped back, coming in contact with the wall behind her. He closed the distance once more, leaving her with no where to go.

"Go ahead, speak to Cragen, tell him you can't handle me anymore," he scoffed. "I don't think I want a partner who's going behind my back and hiding things from me." He told her shaking his head at her in disappointment.

"Hiding things?" Olivia smiled, "Well you're the expert on that." She responded without haste. "When exactly where you going to tell me you were getting divorced Elliot?"

She dropped the bombshell and Elliot's mouth nearly dropped with it.

She smiled, "Yes, you could imagine my surprize when I find out from Cragen of all people who couldn't understand why you would tell the whole precinct and not me. So do you have a reason Elliot, why you would keep that from me?"

He watched her, "My personal life is my personal life, so in that respect I don't have to tell you a god damn thing." He almost yelled at her.

Her back was still pressed up against the wall and he made no motion to give her any more space than she had.

"I realise that Elliot, I just want to know why I was the only one who didn't know. I mean that piece of information certainly would have come in handy _before_ the fact." She told him angrily.

His body softened a little and he smiled harshly at her, "Why Liv, would you have let me fuck you if you knew I was divorced?"

Her eyes widened in disbelief and she pushed him hard in the chest, he stepped backward but steadied himself before he fell. She walked past him determinedly and he reached out grabbing her upper arm. She snapped and hit him hard in the side of his face with her free hand. He let go and stumbled back, coating his face with his hand, wincing in pain.

"No Elliot, I would have put a stop to it earlier because I would have known it was just a piss poor response to your failed marriage. So next time you feel like you need to use someone as a rebound, don't be so fucking stupid as to choose your own partner."

She went to walk past him again but he stood in front of her.

"First of all, that fucking hurt," he rasped, "and second of all what happened between us had nothing to do with being on the rebound."

She swallowed, a definite moment of weakness rocking into her and he could see it in her eyes, she was petrified. Her mouth however wouldn't allow the weakness to take over.

"I don't care what you call it, it was fucking stupid and it's not going to happen again." She stepped forward to make sure he knew she meant business.

"You kissed me back Olivia," he pushed her back against the wall, his lips hovering above hers, "You moaned into my mouth." Her heart was racing and she was trying desperately to cling to some control. His body was caging hers against the wall and his lips were drawing slowly closer, "You wanted me to continue." He concluded and she finally snapped out of it, pushing him away.

"Temporary insanity," she confirmed to his questioning eyes, "I won't let it happen again."

He shook his head at her, "Fine…" he gave in. "If that's the way you want to play this."

"I'm not playing anything Elliot, now if you want this to work I suggest you forget it ever happened and concentrate on the case. That includes treating me like a decent human being at work and not intimidating and patronizing me all day."

He looked as if he was taking her words but then quickly dismissing them, "Do you really want to know why I didn't tell you about Kathy?"

She sighed, annoyed that he wasn't listening to a word she was saying.

"Do you?" He asked again, and she threw up her hands in defeat.

"Because _you_ are the reason our marriage ended Olivia. There it is in black and white." He told her straight out.

She watched him in shock and then finally asked him.

"You're going to blame me for your failed marriage Elliot? Now that's a new low." She spat.

"It's true." He said through gritted teeth.

"What are you talking about?" She sighed not actually wanting to receive an answer.

"Kathy was convinced that I was sleeping with you. I mean she always had her suspicions along the way but about a month ago she decided once and for all that I was a liar and I was cheating on her and there wasn't a thing I could do to change her mind."

Olivia furrowed her brow in response, not quite the answer she was expecting.

"So she filed for divorce just like that, I spent a few weeks trying to convince her she was being ridiculous but there was no point. She had my bags packed when I came home one night and that was it. So I'm sorry if I've been acting a little off with you lately, and excuse me if I don't treat you with the same graces as before." He finished off angrily.

Olivia laughed in surprised, "Wait a minute so you really _are_ blaming me for breaking up your marriage? You've got to be kidding me!" She shook her head in disbelief.

"Technically, I'd still be living with my family if it weren't for you." Elliot told her stubbornly.

"You're fucking insane Elliot, why don't you place the blame where it actually belongs… with yourself. You could have done more to prove to Kathy that nothing was going on but you didn't, so you've got no one to blame but yourself. I cannot believe I've had to endure a week of you taking your personal problems out on me. You're a fucking arsehole Elliot, get out!" She was really angry now.

"No, I'm not leaving until we are finished." He stopped her from opening the door.

"Oh believe me, we're finished." She told him bitterly.

When he wasn't going anywhere she let out a heated breath, her fingers curling over in frustration.

"You know what Elliot," she shook sighed, shaking her head in disbelief, "If you were so angry at me for causing your marriage breakdown then why the hell were you all over me in the weight room?" She yelled angrily.

He was looking at the mark on the wall behind Olivia when finally his eyes flicked harshly to hers. "I was thinking that if Kathy was going to accuse me of fucking you… I might as well get the benefits."

His words washed over her in a wave, there was no point hiding the hurt and sadness that was now evident in her eyes. She stood there in disbelief, biting on her lower lip in an effort to hold back any sign of emotion. She didn't have to ask him to leave again because he was already opening the door and just like that he was gone.

:::

To be continued if you want more


End file.
